Scale



July 20, 1954 T 1 SMULSKl 2,683,985

SCALE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 25, 1945 BY an@ @Zz/Z2 @LM/:1 v-(Ef/V7, j ATTO R N EYS July 20, 1954 T. .1. sMuLsKz 2,683,985

SCALE Filed March 23, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /2 lNvE TOR 9 -9 L97"/5000/25 J.' HULJK/ BY Y LBJ/0. 6701-44/ M,&4Wf@4afry ATTORNEYSPatented July 2G, 1954 SCALE Theodore J. Smulski, Gary,

Ind., assigner to Productive Inventions, Inc., a corporation of IndianaApplication March 23, 1945, Serial No. 584,432

(Cl. 'id- 141) 22 Claims.

rhis invention relates to scales. While a number of features ci theinvention are of broad utility, the illustrated scale has been devisedespecially as a pocket scale for testing the pressure of a windshield erarm against a Windshield and guiding a service station attendant inadjusting the spring pressure or the arm.

A scale designed for the service referred to is desirably made flat andof simple and light construction so that it can be conveniently carriedin the pocket of a service station attendant. It is also made thin andflat so that it may be inserted between the wiper arm and the Windshieldin place of the wiper blade, and with the Wiper arm substantially in itsnormal position. The scale is desirably provided with windows in theiront and back, with a two faced dial, and with a pointer that operatesat opposite sides of the dial so that it can be read from. oppositesides simultaneously by the a* endant standing in iront of theWindshield and by the customer sitting in the drivers seat.

it is a further object of the invention to provide a comparativelyinexpensive scale which is substantially Without friction.

It is a further object oi the invention to provide a scale which isshock prooi". lt is a further object of the invention to provide a scalehaving provision for a zero setting Without disturbing the rate ofspringdeection to load, and having provision for adjusting the rate ofspring defiection to load without disturbing the zero setting.

Still further objects have to do with providing a scale which iseconomical to manufacture, rugged in service, and dependable inperformance.

It is a salient feature of the invention that the scale comprises a thincasing having substantially parallel front and rear Walls, a leaf springWithin the casing, a load bearing member carried at one end of the leafspring and movable through the casing, a movable indicator, a spiral camalilxed to the indicator, and a cam actuator carried by and with theload bearing member.

it is a further feature or" the invention that the load measuring springcomprises a plurality of legs that extend side by side, the spring beingsupported and anchored at the end of one of said legs and beingconnected to the load bearing member at the end of the other of saidlegs, and that an arm is provided for adjusting the deflection rate ofthe spring, the arm being adjustably mounted on one of the legs andengageable with the other so that a greater or lesser length of thespring is reinforced according to the adjustment of the arm.

It is a further feature of the invention that the load measuring springis composed of a plurality of parallel substantially congruent leaveswhich are anchored and supported at a short distance from one another atone point and are secured at a like distance from one another at thepoint of connection to the load bearing member. Vfith this arrangementthe load bearing member is caused to move substantially straight up anddown and not in a curved path as it would ii a single supporting leafwere employed. There is no friction in this part of the apparatus.

It is a further feature of the invention that the movement of the loadbearing member transversely of the spring plane is caused to drive thepointer parallel to the spring plane through a spiral cam afxed to thepointer and a cam actuator carried by and With the load bearing member.

It is a still further feature that the cam actuator is mounted forpivotal adjustment about an axis substantially parallel to the directionof movement of the load bearing member and that means is provided forrictionally detaining the cam actuator in different positions ofadjustment. Through this means a simple and dependable zero setting isobtained.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification Fig. l is a View infront elevation of a pocket scale embodying features of the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a View in rear elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig.l but with the rear casing member removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken upon the line 3- 3 of Fig. 2 looking inthe direction of the arrows, Fig. 3 being, however, upon a larger scalethan Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view upon the same scale as Fig. 3,the section being taken upon the line 1 -4 of Fig. 2 looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryvsectional view taken upon the line 5-5 of Fig. 3looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detailed sectional View looking from the frontand illustrating particularly a spiral cam and cam actuator togetherwith fragments of associated parts;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing particularly the leaf springemployed;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the pointer and the actuating camfor the pointer;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of one of the casing members as seen fromthe inside;

Fig. 10 is a sectional View taken upon the line Ill-H3 of Fig. 9 lookingin the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. ll is a perspective view of a pane frame employed in conjunctionwith the structure iln lustrated in Figs. 9 and l0.

The scale comprises front and rear casing members i and 2. Casing memberi includes a front wall 3 and a iiange portion d which forms side Wallsof the casing. The rear casing me1n ber 2 comprises a rear wall 5, adouble thickness peripheral flange 6 and a flange 'E which forms sidewalls all the way around on the rear casing member. The wall 'i isadapted to fit within the wall d with the wail standing substantiallycontinuously in engagement with the flange 6.

rihe casing member 2 is provided with three rubber feet 8, which aresecured to the face of the casing member in any suitable manner as bymeans of a rubber cement.

The casing member 2 is provided with a window opening which issurrounded by an inwardly odset pane seat E. The pane scat el extendscontinuously around the window opening save that notches i3 are providedat intervals. A pane frame il is provided, this frame including face andiiange portions l2 and i3. The face portion overlies the face or a panei4 while the iange portion i-J surrounds the pane and nts down withinthe recess formed by inward displacement of the pane seat 3. The flangeportion i3 has integral with it a number of fingers l5 which desirablycorrespond in spacing and number with the notches i3 of the casingmember 2. The lingers i5 are adapted to be passed through the notches it,and then to be folded outward as best seen in Fig. 3.

An identical .window structure is provided in the wall 3 of casingmember i. Since there is no difference in the construction of the parts,

Vthe last mentioned window and its mounting means will not be describedin detail, but corresponding parts have been given correspondingreference numerals and the foregoing description of the rear window andits mounting means may be taken as fully applicable.

All ofthe scale mechanism is carried by the forward casing member l. Thescale employs a leaf spring it which comprises a pair of spacedparallelV leaves i?. 'Each leaf l? comprises outer legs i8 whose freeends are widely separated, and an intervening short leg or re-entrantportion i 9. Means are provided for anchoring the leaves iii in spacedrelation to the casing member l together with a dial plate 2S (see Fig.3) In association with the ends of the legs l?. at each side of thespring l there is provided a rivet 2i which is passed successivelythrough an ear 22 of the dial plate 2li, one of the legs i3, e spacingcol- Ylar 23, a corresponding leg iS of the other spring,

and a spacing washer 2d. At the free ends of the legs i9 the springs arealso secured to one another in spaced relation, the spacing being thesame as that provided by the collars 25, and the spring is connected toa load carryingV member 25 which projects through an opening 25 formedin the wall 3. A headed screw 21 is passed through one of the legs I9,then through a specing collar 28 and a cam actuator 29 which will bedescribed presently, and a second leg i9. The screw 2i is then threadedthrough a lock nut 28 which is contained within a recess Se of themember 25 and is finally threaded into the member 25 itself. With thearrangement described a frictionless leaf spring is provided. The springstructure is very compact and is Well adapted to be used within the thinflat casing, and yet the load carrying member 25 is constrained to movestraight up and down, and not in a curved path as would be the case ifonly a single leaf were employed.

The cam actuating member 29- is in the form of a three armed lever asbest seen in Figs. 2 and 6. The lever, as has already been mentioned, isimpaled upon the screw 2l and is held frictionally clamped by the nut 23in cooperation with the head of the screv.r 2'5. Two of the arms 3i and32 are adapted for convenient use in adjusting the cam actuator 29 aboutthe axis of the screw E?. rfhese arms are provided respectively withsmall holes 33 and 3d .into which a tool can be inserted for moving themember 29 against the frictional resistance with which it is held inpiace. The third arm 35 of the actuator 29 is for engaging a spiral camlo which is iixedly connected to a pointer li l The cam et includes acylindrical portion 42 upon which a spiral cam surface 43. is formed.The cam also includes an upright body portion ill which terminates atits opposite ends in pivot pins 135. The pointer tl! includes an armShaving an angularly turned end portion 61 from which lingers l extend.Fingers 8 are Wrapped securely around the body portion Ml of the cam di]so that the pointer moves in unison with the cam. rlhe pointer body 4Eextends over the rear face of the dial plate 2i). This portion of thepointer has a side extension :lewhich extends forwardly and which hasformed integrally with it a second pointer branch 5e which operates overthe front face of the dial. The dial plater! has printed dial sheets 5Iand 52 secured, as by adhesion, to its opposite faces.

The pins 45 are pvotally mounted in a U- shaped bracket 53. The bracket53 comprises'a bearing base 3d which includes wing portions vat itsopposite ends (see Fig. 2). Rivets t5 are passed through the wingportions of the base 55 and through the casing .wall 3 for securing thebracket 53 to the wall 3. The bracket further includes legs 55, spacedfrom one another to permit the cam to operate substantially betweenthem, which extend transversely of the casing and support a furtherbearing portion 5'! in which an opening or slot 58 is formed.

A spring arm 59 is pivotally secured to the bearing portion 5'! by meansof a rivet 60. The arm 5S has an odset portion 6l which is adapted tosnap into a portion of the slot 5B and, in cooperation with the end andsides of the slot to denne a bearing for one of the pivot pins 45. Whenassembling the cam d@ with the bracket 53, one or therbearing pins 45 isfirst inserted in a bearing opening formed in the base 5d, and the otherpin d5 is then introduced into the slot58.' rthe spring arm 59 is thenturned to lodge the offset el in the slot.

lThe short leg i9 ofV each spring leaf Vi extends alongside each of thelonger legs i8 of the same leaf. Against the rear face of one of thelegs i3 of the Vrearward spring il' there is frictionally secured, bymeans of a rivet 62, a spring adjusting arm 63. The arm 63 bears againstthe rear face of the arm I9 and serves to reinforce the spring. Byadjusting the arm 63, the reinforcement can be applied to a greater orlesser length of the spring, thereby changing the deflection rate of thespring. The rate of spring deection can, therefore, be brought intoharmony with the dial calibrations.

A light coil spring the pointer 46 toward zero position and for keepingthe cam lill in engagement with the arm of the cam actuator 29. Thespring is connected at one end to an ear of the cam and at the oppositeend to a stationary finger 66.

The zero setting adjustment and the spring rate adjustment areindependent of one another and are mutually nonconicting. The zerocondition of the spring leaves is a flat condition. This condition isnot affected by adjustment of the arm 63, nor is movement of the arm 63resisted, otherwise than frictionally, with the spring leaves in thiscondition. The zero setting adjustment is accomplished merely byangularly adjusting the actuator 23. Either adjustment can be madefirst, since it will not be disturbed by the making of the otheradjustment.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of myinvention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodimentsshown, =but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

l. A scale comprising, in combination, a thin fiat casing havingsubstantially parallel front and rear walls and a window, a leaf springmounted in the casing, a load bearing member accessible outside thecasing and connected to the spring for movement transversely of saidwalls, a dial within the casing, a pointed cooperative with the dial andvisible through said window, means supporting the pointer for movementabout an axis that extends substantially in the direction of movement ofsaid load bearing member, a spiral cam connected to the pointer, and acam actuating member secured in normally fixed relation to said loadbearing member.

2. A scale comprising, in combination, a thin flat casing havingsubstantially parallel front and rear walls and a window, a leaf springmounted in the casing, a load bearing member accessible outside thecasing and connected to the spring for movement transversely of saidwalls, a dial within the casing, a pointer cooperative with the dial andvisible through said Window, means supporting the pointer for movementabout an axis that extends substantially in the direction of' movementof said load bearing member, a spiral cam connected to the pointer, acam actuating member movable with the load bearing member, and means fordetaining the cam actuating member in different positions relative tothe load bearing member.

3. A scale comprising, in combination, a thin dat casing havingsubstantially parallel front and rear walls, a leaf spring mounted inthe casing, a load bearing member accessible outside the casing andconnected to the spring for movement transversely of said walls, a dialwithin the casing, a pointer cooperative with the dial, means supportingthe pointer for movement about an axis that extends substantially in thedirection of movement of said load bearing member, a spiral camconnected to the pointer, a cam actuating member movable with the loadbearing member,

64 is provided for drawing means supporting the cam actuating memberWith capacity for adjustment relative to the load bearing member aboutan axis parallel to the cam axis, and means for frictionally holding thecam actuating member in different positions of angular adjustment.

4. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having front and rearwalls, a leaf spring mounted in the casing to extend in generalparallelism at least with one of said walls, said leaf spring having apair of connected outer legs Whose free ends are spaced from oneanother. and an intervening leg, means anchoring the free ends of theouter legs to one of said casing Walls, a load carrying member securedto the free end of the intervening leg and extending through the lastmentioned casing wall for movement transversely of the wall, anindicator member mounted for movement about an axis substantiallyparallel to the direction of movement of the load bearing member, a camconnected to the indicator member, and a cam actuating member secured innormally fixed relation to said load bearing member.

5. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing, a leaf spring mountedin the casing, said leaf spring comprising a plurality of parallelsubstantially congruent leaves, each including a pair of connected outerlegs whose free ends are spaced from one another and are anchored to aportion of the casing, and an intervening leg, a load carrying memberconnected to the intervening legs of the spring leaves, an indicatormember mounted for movement about an axis substantially perpendicular tothe spring leaves, and an actuator for the indicator member carried bythe load carrying member.

6. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having substantiallyfront and rear walls, a leaf spring mounted in the casing to extendalongside at least one of said walls, said leaf spring comprising aplurality of leaves, each including a pair of connected outer legs whosefree ends are spaced from one another and are anchored to one of thewalls and an intervening leg, a load carrying member connected to theintervening legs of the spring leaves and extending through one wall formovement transversely thereof, an indicator member mounted on said onewall for movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to thespring leaves, and an actuator for the indicator member carried by theload carrying member.

7. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having front and rearwalls, a window provided in one of said walls, a leaf spring mounted inthe casing to extend alongside at least one of said walls, said leafsprinfT comprising a plurality of leaves, each including a pair ofconnected legs whose free ends are spaced from one another and areanchored to one of the casing walls and a 11e-entrant portion, a loadbearing member connected to said re-entrant portion, a dial, meansanchoring the dial to the outer legs of the spring and in parallelismwith the casing Walls, a pointer visible through said window, meanspivotally supporting the pointer adjacent the load bearing member, andan actuator for the pointer carried by the load bearing member.

8. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having front and rearwalls each having a window, an opening in one of said walls, a leafspring mounted in the casing, a load bearing member, accessible by meansof said opening and connected to the spring for movement transversely ofsaid casing walls, a two faced dial ,mounted-within the casing insubstantial parallelism with the Wallsand spaced from both of them, abifurcated pointer visible through said windows and embracing the dial,means supporting the pointer for movement in the plane of the dial, andarpointer actuator carried by the .load bearing member.

9; Ascale comprising, in combination, a cas- 'ing having substantiallyparallel walls, each having a window., Va .leaf spring mounted in thecasing. on one of the walls, said spring including a-plurality ofparallel congruent leaves, each having a pair of outer legs whose freeends are spaced and a re-entrant portion, a two faced .means anchoringthe free extremities of 'the outer spring legs and the dial in fixedpositions, a bifurcated pointer embracing the dial 'and mounted forpivotal movement parallel to the dial, a cam having a curved surfaceaffixed tothe pointer, a load bearing member connected to the.re-entrant portion of the spring leaves, 'and extending through a wallof the casing for movement transversely thereof, and a cam actuatorcarried by the load bearing member having a portion adaptedto engagesaid curved surface.

l0. A scale comprising, in combination, a leaf spring, which includestwo connected legs that extendalongside one another, one of said legsbeing supported and anchored at its free end, a load'bearing'memberconnected with the free end of the other leg, an indicator member,mechanism for operating the indicator member from the load bearingmember, and a spring adjusting arm pivotally connected to one of saidlegs for movement over a surface of the other, said adjusting armserving to reinfo-rce a greater or lesser length of spring according tothe adjustment setting of the arm.

l1. A scale comprising, in combination, a leaf spring, which includestwo connected legs that extend alongside one another, one of said legsbeing supported and anchored at its free end,

Ya load bearing. member connected with the free endloflthe other leg, anindicator member, mechanism for. operating the indicator member from theload bearing member, a spring adjusting arm, and meansfor pivotallysecuring the arm to one of said legs and for frictionally opposingmovement thereof, said' arm being operable on the other'leg and servingto reinforce a greater or lesser length of the spring according to theadjustment setting of the arm.

l2. A scale comprising, in combination, a leaf spring, which includestwoconnected legs that extend alongside one another, one of said legs beingsupported and anchored at its free end, a load bearing member connectedwith the free end of the other leg, an indicator member, mechanism foroperating the indicator member from the load bearing member, a springadjusting arm, means riveting the adjusting arm to one of the legs-,saidarm being operable with respect to the other legY and'serving toreinforce a greater or lesser length of the spring according to theadjustment setting of the arm.

13. Asca-le comprising, in combination, a load measuring leaf springhaving a pair of connected legs that extend alongside one another, aspring adjusting arm, and means for pivotally securing thefarm to one ofsaid legs and for frictionally opposing movement thereof, said arm beingoperable. along the other leg and serving to reinforce a greater orlesser length of the spring according Ytothe adjustment setting of thearm.

14. A scale comprising, incombination, a load vieasuring leaf springhaving a pair of connected legs that extend alongside one another, aspring adjusting arm, and means supporting said arm on the spring inengagement with both said legs but with capacity for adjustment toengage one leg at more or less widely spaced points measured along thespring.

15. A scale comprising, in combination, a load measuring leaf springhaving a pair of connected outer legs Whose free ends are spaced fromone another and an intervening leg, means for an- 1^ free ends of theouter legs to a casing, a load bearing member connected to the free endof the intervening leg, and an arm engaged with the intervening leg andone of the outer legs and pivotally mounted on one of said engaged legsfor adjustment along the other, and serving to-reinforce a greater orlesser' length of the spring according to the adjustment setting of thearm.

15. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having front and rearWalls and a dial, a load measuring spring comprising a plurality ofparallel spring leaves clamped firmly to one another at at least threedisaligned points, means anchoring said leaves to one of the Walls at aplurality of said points, one of said Walls being provided with anopening a load bearing memsecured to the leaves at another of saidpoints accessible by means of said opening, and a pointer operativelyconnected to the load bearing niemeer and movable relative to the dialwhen the load bearing member is actuated.

l'. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having front and rearwalls, a leaf spring mounted in the casing to extend alongside at leastone of said walls, said leaf spring having a pair of connected legshaving extremities spaced from one another, means anchoring the outerextremities of the legs to one of said walls, a load bearing membersecured adjacent the point of connection between the legs of said leafspring and extending through the said one casing wall for movementtransversely of said wall, an indicator member mounted for movementabout an axis subsuantially parallel to the direction of movement of theload bearing member, a cam connected to said indicator member, and saidload bearing member provided with means for actuating said cam.

A. scale operating assembly adapted for disposition in a housingcomprising a leaf spring including a plurality of leaves,` each leafincludinga pair of spaced legs connected together adjacent oneextremity, the other extremities of said legs being spaced from oneanother and being adapted for connection to a portion of the housing, aload bearing member connected to the said extremitgT of at least one ofsaid leaves and movable transversely with respect thereto, an indicatormember mounted for movement about an axis substantially perpendicular toat least one of said spring leaves, and an actuator for the indicatormember carried by said load bearing member.

i9. A scale comprising, in combination, a casing having front and rearwalls, a leaf spring mounted in the casing to extend alongside at leastone of said walls, said leaf spring comprising a plurality1 of leaves,each including a pair of connected legs whose free ends are spaced fromone another and are anchored to one of the walls and a re-entrantportion, a load bearing memberY connected to at least one of thereentrant portions and extending through said one wall for movementsubstantially transverse thereof, an indicator member mounted on saidone wall for movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to atleast one of said spring leaves, and an actuator for the indicatormember carried by said load bearing member.

20. A leaf spring assembly for use in conjunction with a scale of thecharacter described comprising a pair of superimposed substantially natsprings, each of said springs including a pair of fiat leg portionsintegrally connected together adjacent one extremity, said pair of saidleg portions lying in a single plane means on said extremitiessupporting a load bearing member, an indicator member operativelyconnected to at least one of said extremities, and the opposite freeends of said leg portions being constructed and arranged whereby thesame may be secured to a stationary support to permit the saideXtremities of the springs to be manually moved when pressure is appliedto the load bearing member to actuate the indicator member.

21. In a weighing scale, the combination of a double cantilever leafspring of general E-shape comprising spaced outer legs, and an inner legtherebetween and integrally joined at one end to the corresponding endsof the outer-legs, all said legs normally lying in a common plane,supporting means and load carrying means, one of said means beingconnected to the free end of the inner leg, and the other of said meansbeing connected to the free ends of the outer legs.

22. In a device of the character described, the combination of a doublecantilever leaf spring comprising spaced-apart outer` legs, an inner legtherebetween and connected at one end to the corresponding ends of theouter legs, said outer legs and said inner leg, respectively, beingconstructed and arranged to flex under load in the same generaldirection from a common plane or closely adjacent respective planes inwhich they normally lie, supporting means and force receiving means, oneof said means being connected to the Iree end of the inner leg, and theother of Said means being connected to the ends of the outer legsopposite to said corresponding ends.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,233,124 Powers July 10, 1917 1,501,698 Beckert July 15, 19241,579,849 Weston Apr. 6, 1926 1,724,734 Scott et al Aug. 13, 19292,059,246 Kliesrath Nov. 3, 1936 2,359,245 Ritzmann Sept. 26, 1944FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 112,519 Germany Aug. 20, 1900 25,526Great Britain of 1902 86,750 Switzerland Oct. 1, 1920 170,392 GreatBritain Oct. 19, 1921 435,192 Germany Oct. 7, 1926 259,274 Italy June20, 1928 739,948 France Nov. 3, 1932 598,581 Germany June 13, 1934786,861 France June 17, 1935 182,110 Switzerland May 1, 1936

